Afrika Tikkun, a leading South African non-profit organisation dedicated to holistic youth development, has significantly strengthened its strategy execution capability through a tactical partnership with Project Portfolio Office. By implementing PPO, Project Portfolio Office’s centralised, cloud-based project portfolio management (PPM) platform, Afrika Tikkun has enhanced governance, improved accountability and increased its ability to translate strategic intent into measurable, large-scale outcomes.

Strengthening execution through integrated portfolio management

As Afrika Tikkun’s cradle-to-career model expanded across early childhood development through its Bambanani programme, adolescent support through Ignite, and youth employability through Head Start, the limitations of decentralised project management practices became increasingly apparent. Critical project management information was dispersed across spreadsheets, emails and standalone documents, constraining visibility, consistency and strategic oversight.

According to Agnes Sibanda, Group Head: Scale and Outreach, the challenge was not reflective of organisational capability, but rather the absence of an integrated system able to support standardisation, repeatability and institutional learning at scale.

PPO addressed this need by providing a single source of truth across the organisation’s project management portfolio. This has enabled standardised planning, performance tracking, risk management and reporting across programmes, functions and geographies.

Enhancing governance, visibility and stakeholder confidence

The implementation of PPO has provided leadership with executive-level dashboards that deliver real-time visibility into project performance, milestones, dependencies and risks. Governance reporting for boards, donors and strategic partners can now be generated directly from the system, improving data integrity while reducing administrative effort.

The value of this disciplined and structured project management approach was well demonstrated through Afrika Tikkun’s role as joint host of the inaugural Valuable 500 Africa Summit, a high-level meeting aimed at ending the persistent exclusion of persons with disabilities from education, employment and leadership. Managed as a formal project within PPO, the initiative enabled the organisation to produce comprehensive close-out and narrative reports for sponsors, reinforcing delivery credibility and contributing to stronger long-term stakeholder confidence.

Enabling scalable and sustainable growth

Beyond operational efficiencies, PPO has strengthened organisational decision-making and improved delivery consistency through the use of standardised project management templates, workflows and reporting structures. This has reduced onboarding time for new staff, increased operational maturity and released capacity for higher-value work.

As Afrika Tikkun explores future growth opportunities, including pilot initiatives in Somaliland and potential early childhood development programming in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Botswana, its investment in portfolio discipline positions the organisation to scale responsibly while maintaining programme quality, governance standards and accountability.

Setting a higher standard for social impact delivery

Afrika Tikkun’s transformation reflects a broader reality within the social impact sector: sustainable development outcomes require the same execution discipline, governance rigour and data maturity expected of high-performing private-sector institutions. By aligning strategy, systems and delivery through PPO, Afrika Tikkun is strengthening its ability to deliver lasting economic and social impact for South Africa’s youth and, over time, broader regional communities.

Says  Guy Jelley, CEO and co-founder of Project Portfolio Office: “Ultimately, Afrika Tikkun’s project management transformation aligns with its core belief that empowering South Africa’s youth requires disciplined, measurable and sustainable programme delivery. 

“By modernising its project management approach, the organisation is now better equipped to deliver on that promise - creating opportunities, strengthening communities and building pathways to brighter futures. We look forward to continuing to support and grow Afrika Tikkun’s project management environment into the future.”

About Afrika Tikkun

Afrika Tikkun is a leading South African non-profit organisation focused on holistic youth development, supporting children and young people from early childhood through to employment readiness via multiple centres of excellence and community-based initiatives.

About Project Portfolio Office:

Project Portfolio Office helps organisations achieve greater project success by assisting at every level of the project and portfolio management (PPM) process. From consulting to businesses on how to build a successful Project Management Office (PMO), to delivering the capabilities needed for effective project delivery, Project Portfolio Office can provide the services and solutions needed for companies to improve execution within a competitive business environment. This includes its PPM tool, PPO, which is used to plan, manage, collaborate, execute and report on their projects, programmes and portfolios.

Project Portfolio Office (PPO) is committed to advancing the project management profession through support of the Project Management South Africa’s (PMSA) invitation- only PMO Forum. The PMO Forum, aimed at senior PMO practitioners, is part of a series of forums presented by industry thought leaders. The forum hosted by Project Portfolio Office offers a quarterly opportunity for discussion and knowledge transfer by means of case studies, best practices, research outcomes and lessons learned presented.

As an active player in growing the project portfolio management profession, Project Portfolio Office manages and coordinates the South African PMO Awards competition. This annual competition identifies and recognises PMOs that are delivering value to their organisations. The winners get to suit up and tango with the best on the global stage through the annual PMO Global Awards.